Intellectual property law is good. Excess in intellectual property law is not. This blog is about excess in Canadian and international copyright law, trademarks law and patent law. I practice IP law with Macera & Jarzyna, LLP in Ottawa, Canada. I've also been in government and academe. My views are purely personal and don't necessarily reflect those of my firm or any of its clients. Nothing on this blog should be taken as legal advice.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Speed Debating with the ESA

Stevan Mitchell is VP of IP Policy wtih the Electronic Software Association. He was up in Canada lobbying the "IP caucus" on changes that the ESA thinks Canada should make in Canada's copyright legislation. The Business News Network asked us to debate the issue, which we did yesterday here.

5 comments:

I saw their presentation yesterday to a group of Ontario bureaucrats. I asked them whether this emphasis on locking down content and increasing sanctions and enforcement was a diversion from developing new business models. The response was that game companies are doing various things like trying subscription models and online add-ons for legitimate buyers. Fair enough. Why don't they stick with those strategies?

I also raised the privacy issue of having ISPs monitor our traffic. They just blubbered in response.

As a Canadian citizen I would like to say thank you Mr. Knopf. It reassuring to know we have knowledgeable people like you working to protect our rights and not let certain corporations bully us.

Two quotes in particular I really liked

"no, we are doing something wrong as far as certain big American corporations are concerned and they've persuaded their government. That doesn't mean that its wrong"Big corporations have been having their way with governments for far to long.

"shouldn't the consumer be able to decide. Why should some business down in hollywood decide for Canadian consumers. Right now you have a right to make a backup copy of a computer program but you don;t have the right, in Canada, to make a backup comy of an entertainment DVD, a film, or a videogame. I mean it's a silly distinction"

Couldn't agree more. Whether it's a game, music, a movie or a piece of software we should have the right to produce a back up for our personal use.

Yeah Howard Knopf. Your the man. Protect us from these excess copyrights. I just saw your interview where you raped Stevan Mitchell. Oh man I was so convinced by your speech. Thanks Howard. Backing up our CDs is legal and should stay legal. I dont wanna spend another 60 dollars because these cds are so fragile. GO HOWARD.